The Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) has received an official reply from the European Commission’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE)’s Director General, Mrs Charlina Vitcheva, to its Recommendation on the re-evaluation of the risk assessment of parasites in farmed fish products.
The new review is based on the results of the Horizon 2020-funded Parafish Control research project. In light of the new research, the AAC requested that the European Commission and EFSA review the current risk-assessment for farmed fish in the EU, specifying if the risk of parasite transmission to humans is considered significant or negligible.
In its reply letter, the European Commission says that it intends to ask the EFSA to re-evaluate its scientific opinion.
If the EFSA believes that the risk of parasite transmission between farmed fish and humans is negligible after its review, the AAC is urging European authorities to update current legislation. The AAC is lobbying for new rules that would extend the current exemption of freezing treatments for products that will be consumed raw or undercooked to cover all farmed fish products originating in the EU.
